The Warring States

The Warring States period lasted for the century from 1467 to 1567 although the wars and confusion of the age were not finally ended until the creation of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1603. The name is drawn from a similar period of civil war in China. It saw the breakdown of central authority, and an extended period of wars between hundreds of local, independent strongmen. Strictly defined, the period began in 1467 with the outbreak of the Onin War and lasted until 1567 when Oda Nobunaga took over Kyoto and established a semblance of national unity. During this century, the authority of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate, never strong, slowly disappeared. A shogunal succession dispute provided the excuse for the Onin War as aspirants to national power fought for that trophy while nearly everyone else tried to settle local disputes. After ten years, exhaustion set in, but by then, Kyoto was devastated, the Ashikaga were on the garbage dump of history and power was divided among local men of power, the daimyo.

The warring states are Amago, Asakura, Ahina, Azai, Chosokame, Date, Hojo, Mogami, Mori, Miyoshi, Nanbu, Oda, Otomo, Ryozoji, Satake, Shimazu, Takeda, Tokugawa, Uesugi